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Can't Hardly Wait

(1998, Rated PG-13, Comedy, Starring Seth Green, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ethan Embry)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 14, age appropriate for kids over 16; suggested age 15.

  • Is it any good?

    2.0

  • Common Sense says

    Boozy party movie where losing inhibitions pays off.

Themes in this movie include:   dating/crushes, growing up, peer pressure

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 15–16

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    Underage drinking is made to look really fun. Kids swear and have sex, and that is made to look pretty fun, too.

  • Role models :

    There aren't too many characters you would want your kids to emulate. Are the role models the sensitive kids who dodge the insults of their peers, while expressing their true feelings? Or are they the wasted bullies who pride themselves on how much action they get? Either way, the pickings are slim.

  • Violence:

    High school thuggery. Mike tells a room of people that he's going to beat them all up. Weaklings get tossed aside, some punching, and lots of threatening language.

  • Sex:

    Girls exist for boys' sexual gratification. Kenny has a backpack full of sexual aids and condoms, which he ends up using with Denise in a bathroom. References to group sex, sex for revenge sake, guys with erections, the foreign exchange student asking people, "would you like to touch my penis?" Lots of deep throat kissing and dirty dancing. A couple has sex on the floor in the bathroom covered in towels, then discuss how quickly it was over.

  • Language:

    You name it, it gets said: "bitches", "damn," "ho's," "balls,"" f--k," "bulls--t," "asshole," "fag," "boner."

  • Consumerism:

    Pop Tarts mentioned and shown, different clothing brands.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    The party is all about underage drinking. Keg beer is poured, kids have bottles and cans of beer in their hands, they drink hard liquor, while others act stoned. Kids and adults smoke cigarettes. Characters intend to get drunk, and when they do, their inhibitions are shed completely, much to the approval of their wasted peers. Mike and William are thrown in jail when the party is busted.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Can't Hardly Wait

Parents need to know that this movie is about a huge graduation party where most of the kids are drinking illegally, uttering crude language, and getting laid. Somehow it sneaked through with a PG-13 rating, though it's more lewd and bawdy than the rating implies. 

Read our full review by Joly Herman

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about what happens at parties. Is this movie's depiction realistic?  What about all the drinking? Here are some tips for those who are concerned about the "peer-approved" drinking in movies like this.
  • Is Amanda having a good time? How must she feel when every guy she meets wants to get into her underwear? What is the lesson here? That she is not safe unless she has a guy to protect her? And even then? How might a movie like this affect a young female viewer? 
  • Two characters end up in jail. How might that affect their lives after the party?
Tools and tips that can help

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